


No Rest With Time

by archangelkoriel



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: A very tired Inquisitor, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Depression, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Multi, She saved the world once and now she really just wants to stop, Slow Burn, Sort Of, Time Travel, but she might as well make jokes at Solas while she has the chance, in another world
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-05 17:25:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17329289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archangelkoriel/pseuds/archangelkoriel
Summary: Halesta Lavellan had seen the world change once. Had led it. She bled for it. Loved for it. Lost for it. And just as she was going to continue to fight for it, everything... changed. Now she's back at the start of it all, without the support of those closest to her. She is a stranger to them and to her, these past versions of her people...will never be who they once were again. They have not seen her struggles, or her victories. Have not seen her bloom from the Dalish First to a Herald, and from a Herald to The Inquisitor. Nor the realization that her lover was god, and that now he was their greatest enemy...Anyone who thinks being able to change the past is a blessing can fuck right off in her opinion.Based off the Nightmare mode Inquisitor ends up at the start of the game op as fuck. I found it inspiring.Slow Burn because as tired as she is, Lavellan still loves Solas, only now it is the kind that really suits var lath vir suledin to a tee because she knows him so much more from the start now. And because of that...she can't just use what she knows to get him again. She respects him too much, even when she is hurting.





	1. The Wrath of Heaven 7:19

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize if there are weird grammar issues, I haven't actually really edited any of this other than checking spelling. I'm out of practice..and well this fic is all about getting back into writing. At least I have a plot in mind.

### The Wrath of Heaven

Time passes in a blur for Halesta Lavellan after the events of the Exalted Council. Too many earth-shattering revelations, one after another, left the former Inquisitor wrung out and hung to dry. Officially, the Inquisition had ended. Reality, however, was not so kind. It would take weeks, perhaps even months to fully break down all that they labored to build. Negotiation after negotiation. Constant fittings with Dagna who, bless her heart, seemed to be the only one to keep high spirits as they worked together to find a replacement for her arm. Halesta was honest to gods tired. Of everything. Of magic and Elvhen gods. Of the Qun. Of politics, and Maker thrice-damned Orlesians with their Game. And she was mad, horribly terribly mad at her former- no, who was she kidding. There was nothing former about her love for Solas. For Fen’harel. He had burrowed his way deep into her very being a long time ago. Even after Crestwood, after the Eluvians, she could not find it in herself to love him any less. Oh, but she could be mad. Angry, even. Halesta wondered if it said something about how old he was, how used to thinking in centuries and millennia, that he didn’t think that perhaps she would have preferred happier times to remember him by. Not hurt. Because for all he professed to be protecting her from further pain, his actions- and inactions cause her far more hurt than losing him after a few short years of love.

Halesta was Dalish. She was used to the bone deep pain of loss. Loss was written in her blood, and soaked deep into her marrow. We are the last of the Elvhen, and never again shall we submit.

Though she supposed they were hardly the last now. Elves, not Elvhen. Never Elvhen. Her people were no better than shems to those few survivors of Arlathan. Survivors of a culture no better than Tevinter. Slavers and players of their own Game. That made her mad too. Made her want to bare her teeth like a wolf, snarling as she spat sharp words at People like Abelas. Ancient elves who judged them for not remembering more. Who so easily threw away the fact that in the end, the slavery of her people never ended. Not after the fall. Not after Tevinter.  Not after even after Andraste. But no…she would say nothing. Holding onto that anger until she could find a moment to herself and just breathe. When she breathed, everything faded away, and for a time she was at peace. At least, until she slipped into the Fade dreamed of The Wolf watching her from afar. True rest was far from common memory now. Her heart ached more often than not, but the Inquisitor never broke her mask. She would follow her Heart’s trail of breadcrumbs until she was dead, or he finally stopped. Regardless of if it killed her slowly to do so. Of course, often as not, that was when things decided to go terribly wrong for Lavellan. One minute, all is quiet with her travelling companions (none are her closest friends, sadly.) and in the next, lights flash as an explosion of fire bursts to life on the road in front of them. There is fighting, yells of victory and exclamations of horror, and so, so much blood. Lavellan can taste the copper on her tongue as she slices through one of the men with her arcane blade, then flares out her left arm to catch another with a bolt of lightning from one of the runes on her prosthetic. At some point, she must have been hit from behind because the next thing she remembered was a sharp pain and falling. Falling and falling into heat, and green, and _fear_. Then, there was nothing. Halesta Lavellan did not fear her death in that moment.

 

When she woke, it was a slow, dawning thing. A hazy remembrance that felt all too familiar as cold stone dug into the bones of her knees. The air was stale and damp with rot, cold too, by the numbness of her nose. She grimaced, then started as green flickered like a tongue across her eyelids and followed by an ever-familiar sound of the anchor sparking and pain. Halesta choked on inhale, eyes snapping open to stare, wide-eyed in both horror and wonder at her shackled hands. Hands. Plural. Right there before her, was the limb she had lost not so long ago, and the anchor that caused its loss. The elf swallowed and allowed her eyes to dart around the room while her thoughts whirled. Was she in the fade? Living out a memory of Haven from so long ago? It was a good theory, if not for the fact that nothing changed when she tried to will it to. And she was pretty good at controlling them nowadays, had to be, when one’s own lover and now sort-of enemy was a dreamer. But no, there was her arm, and the nervous men pointing swords at her just like before. Where was Cassandra? Her brow furrowed. Had this much time passed before she appeared last time? “Wha-“ Halesta’s voice cracked as she tried to speak, wincing at the dryness of her throat so much as the door ahead slamming open before she could question her guards. Guards who were sheathing their swords as Cassandra stalked forward, furious and cold, not unlike a predator circling its prey. Time magic then? It wasn’t the largest stretch of the imagination, though Halesta had never experienced it going backward quite like this. “Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now.” Cassandra asked, moving out from behind her as she spoke. It was…strange. Being back here. “The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you.”

“I…” Fenedhis. What could she say that wouldn’t sound absolutely insane??? If this wasn’t a dream, or some weird play by enemies- if she was really back to the start. Halesta knew, even without looking between Leliana and Cassandra that her face looked lost. Lost and teary. Only, they didn’t know her now. Couldn’t understand everything that she had won and lost. “Explain _this_.” As if on que, the anchor sparked when the dark-haired woman forced her arm upwards before throwing it back down. “I… can’t.” A truth and a lie. Oh gods. She knew what it was, how it got there, and why. Could explain everything that happened and could- no would happen. Could even tell them what would happen if they failed. “What do you mean you can’t?” But they wouldn’t believe her, couldn’t. It wasn’t their Maker that did anything. If she told them that an ancient elvhen god woke and gave a darkspawn Magister his orb- “I don’t know how it got there, or why.” More truth and lies. It hurt, knowing that she had to lie to those she considered good friends. That she had to play the Game…before they lost everything. “You’re lying!” Halesta didn’t hide her flinch from the Seeker’s lunge. It would be better, she thought, if they thought she was flinching and worried because she was scared.

“We need her, Cassandra.”

The room was silent for a beat, before she managed to choke out the next step in the play of her past. “What…” It was Liliana’s turn now, and just like she remembered. “Do you remember what happened? How this began?” Halesta wet her lips before replying, looking down away from them as if she was trying to remember what happened. “Running. No- I think I was…fighting something first? Then running, from- from things. Then a woman? She…helped me?” Could she get away with changing things, even simple things like this? Make things…better? Halesta couldn’t help but feel…dirty. Wrong. _This was so wrong_. This situation reminded her too much of Felix, and his father. Of future Redcliff. Of time magic gone so very wrong. “A woman?” These people were her friends, they fought together! “She...reached out to me- but then…” Her voice was significantly tighter by the end, fraught with tension. Just as well that her eyes stung from tears that she would not let fall. Not yet. Not now. There were rifts to seal, and a Breach to plug- for the fourth time. And an arm to lose again. **Hah**. “Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her to the rift.”

Unlike the first time, she did not question Cassandra about what happened as the black-haired woman unshackled her and tied her wrists together. Instead, together they walked out of the dungeons and up the stairs to the chantry above in complete silence. And with it, an even heavier weight sunk across the former Inquisitor’s shoulders, settled deep into her bones, and clamped her heart in a vice. Everything had changed, and nothing had changed with it. Maybe the Maker did exist…and this was his curse for becoming his prophet unwittingly. Halesta didn’t know anymore. But… she really didn’t care anymore either.


	2. The Wrath of Heaven 7:19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old friends gather together anew, and Halesta tries not to look at her Vhenan. Surrounded by familiar faces, many conversations stay the same- though some end up changed. She likely should have thought things through before making herself appear extra interesting to the one she loved...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost wasn't sure I would manage to get this finished today! But since it has mostly dialogue from the game...well it was a bit easier to handle. Sunday is unofficially my update day for this fic, or at least I shall try to keep it weekly like that...no promises.  
> Apologies for it being mostly game script, but right now our Inquisitor is mostly sticking to the script- at least until she gets a handle on everything and decides what to do!

### The Wrath of Heaven

The sunlit snow outside the Chantry was just as blinding as it had been the first time, adjusted as her eyes were for the darkness she had been kept in while her body was unconscious. Just as cold as she remembered as well, but at the very least she was warm. Her armor was meant for the cold of the Frostbacks, though how she still had it- and yet also her arm, was a mystery. Was she in her younger body? A new one? She would have to think on it later when there, in the sky, her fate did not hang so heavy. The Breach. This was the part where she could crack a joke about the fourth time being the charm, only there wasn’t a single soul around who would find that funny. Gods did she miss Varric, and Sera, and- well everyone. “We call it “The Breach.”” Cassandra started, and Halesta was glad the Seeker’s back was to her in that moment. The pained look that flashed across her face would go unseen, and so would the look of knowing in her eyes fade. All that was left when Cassandra turned back around was resignation that pulled at Halesta’s shoulders. “It’s a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour. It’s not the only such rift. Just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave.”

“No normal explosion could have done this. This is beyond normal explosions.” She does not tear her eyes away from the sky, unable to help the instinctive reaction to lick her bottom lip as she continued. “Even with the emotions- a hole like that? It would need…something powerful.” Cassandra made a noise, part surprise, and something else she guessed. “Curiously, you are not the first to say so. Regardless, unless we act, The Breach may grow until it swallows the world.” It was that moment, Halesta remembered keenly what time had all but faded from her memory. Fire raged through her hand as both the Breach and the Anchor surged. The pain of it blindsided her, and she let out a choked scream before she could stop herself, body hunched in on itself as if that could help stop the pain. She could feel it now, the way the mark threaded through her hand hungrily. Devouring her little by little. Knew intimately that for better or for worse that is was part of her now. It hurt less though, then the first time. At the Exalted Council, when it had finally almost claimed her life, it had pained her far more. Had spread far more. This, this she could handle. Odd to think, considering it would most certainly kill her if left unattended.  As the flare faded from her palm and she regained her composure, Cassandra, in the way the Seeker always managed, decided to bluntly state the obvious. “Each time The Breach expands, your mark spreads…and it is killing you.” No shit Cassandra. No shit. She almost didn’t notice, what with the pain and the sparking, and oh the blinding _pain_. “It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn’t much time.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“Then...?”

Halesta nodded in reply, though she wasn’t entirely certain she managed to mask the impatience from her face. The rest of the journey went much the same as it had the first time. They fell off the bridge as it shattered, she found a staff to protect herself with [and oh, did it make her regret not having her own staff with her anymore now that she had to use this stick] much to Cassandra’s distaste. It was only as they were going up the icy steps towards the others that Halesta was hit with a horrifying realization. _Solas_. Fen’Harel. _Vhenan_. Her heart ached deeply in her chest. She could _change_ everything, or ruin it. And for now? She would have to out trick the trickster…at least until she could…decide what course to take. Until the Breach was closed- the last of the demons dissipated under the sting of her magic, and without conscious thought she brought her hand up to close the rift before Solas could show her how. For a beat, everyone was silent. [She could see curiosity in his eyes, wondering, waiting to know how she knew what to do. (But she avoided his gaze, looking only from the corner of her vision as she pretended to examine her hand.)]  The rift was oddly easy to close, now that she thought about it. Halesta flexed her fingers with a crease to her brow. Easier than she remembered it being, actually. Had the Anchor been changed by her arrival here? Or was it because her body was used to its power already? But her arm- “So it works.” She murmurs, wincing internally as she remembered that she was hardly alone to ponder things. “Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the Mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach’s wake—and it seems I was correct. Though not the only one, apparently.” Stupid! Well, she supposed she couldn’t have avoided his attention forever- or at all, really.

“Meaning it could also close the Breach itself.”

“Possibly.”

Ah, yes, she could always count on Cassandra to butt right in. At least, a little.

“It seems you hold the key to our salvation.” Solas looked so awkward, hunched in upon himself as he was. Halesta had forgotten just how well he played his part in the beginning. It looked wrong, seeing him that way. Seeing who she knew to be a proud and powerful man, stand before her hunched in and playing with his fingers. It made her smile awkwardly in reassurance- just a bit, and even managed to look him straight in the eyes. It still hurt. She swallowed, thankful then that Varric would- and did interrupt the moment.

“Good to know! Here I thought we’d be ass-deep in demons forever.”

She turned away from Solas, stepping forward to meet Varric half-way in relief as he continued his introduction. It was good to hear again, even for a second time. It hurt still, knowing that none of their party knew her anymore. But…but Varric could always make an awkward situation bearable just by being himself.

“Varric Tethras: Rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong.”

“I’ve read your books, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Varric.” She manages softly with a smile, bowing her head in greeting just slightly, even as she mutters the next words she knows will be spoken next inside her head. She never reconsidered- not even once, thank you.

“You may reconsider that stance, in time.” And there it was. She snorted lightly.

“Aww. I’m sure we’ll become great friends in the valley, Chuckles.” And here comes Cassandra! Halesta wondered if this was what it was like to live in a play, knowing everyone’s lines in advance. At least she could just…watch them go back and forth. It was easier than participating.

“Absolutely not. Your help is appreciated, Varric, but…”   

“Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker? Your soldiers aren’t in control anymore. You need me.”

“Ughhh.”

Ah, Cassandra, never change-

“My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live.”

He looked so pleased, and gods did it feel so wrong. _Vhenan_. Look at me, and see me. He wasn’t her Solas. And it hurt, gods did it hurt. It hurt more than when he left, and it hurt more then finding out the truth. In another world…she did not think he meant something like this. _Ar lath ma_ , _vhenan_ , _var lath vir suledin_.

“He means, “I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.” Bless you Varric.

“ _Ma melava halani, ma serannas._ ” Halesta couldn’t help but let the elvhen spill from her lips, even as she bowed slightly to Solas- if only to hide the amusement that was sure to be in her eyes. Her reward, was apparently momentary silence. “Should I translate…?” She looked up at him, letting her golden eyes peer through her lashes to examine his face as one unsure might. He looked surprisingly unsettled. “No, _Ir abelas_. I understand. Thank me if we manage to close the Breach without killing you in the process.” Huh, apparently, she managed to surprise him more than she thought. She turned away, though aware that at least for a moment, his gaze yet lingered.

“Cassandra,” Solas cleared his throat- something that she did not remember happening last time. “you should know: The magic involved here is unlike any I have seen. Your prisoner is a mage, indeed, but I find it difficult to imagine _any_ mage having such power.”

“Understood. We must get to the forward camp quickly.”

And so, things begin once again…

“Well, Bianca’s excited!”

Halesta stared after them all with a heavy sadness.


	3. The Wrath of Heaven 7:19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things progress as expected, until they don't. Adjusting to an arm may take a little more work than expected, among other things. Least of all not appearing too suspicious to her companions...but she might have failed that one already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A whole two days early this time, surprise! And I wrote...a lot more. Good times all around : )  
> Still a lot of following in-game dialogue unfortunately, but as we go it's slowly diverging from strict canon!  
> And yes, next chapter we will actually get to sealing the Breach -coughs-

### The Wrath of Heaven

“This way, down the bank, the road ahead is blocked.”

Halesta lets out a shuddering breath as she follows after the would-be band of heroes. Future heroes- and one villain, if she was counting Solas. Everything still felt strange, her new re-marked arm as she used it to slide over the wooden boards and onto their path forward. It was really, all of it, and somehow it still felt like she was dreaming in the Fade. Perhaps this is what Solas felt, waking for the first time in millennia to find the world changed and the past he fought so hard for, forgotten. Speaking of Solas- “We must move quickly.” Right on time, she thought with a mental snort. For once, she had the upper hand with her… former lover. It felt both wrong and right to name it that. Former. Gods if she wasn’t the poster for ‘It’s complicated.’ She bet this Varric would have a field day hearing her story.  Everyone was quiet as they hurried down the rocky path, likely focused on what was to come with the Breach. For them, the future was uncertain- balanced on the edge of a knife. Fitting then, that their future rested in the hand of a knife ear. A sardonic thought, but no less true. Now there was a thought! Was she still bare-faced? Or had her vallaslin returned to her, much like her arm had? Was she the Inquisitor in the body of a Dalish first, or had some weird Fade bullshit slash time magic gone wrong slash right manage to return it to her? Food for thought.

“Demons ahead!” Solas warned as they came to the end of their path, followed swiftly by Varric’s call of “Glad you brought me now, Seeker?” while he readied Bianca. Halesta whirled into action before any of them could protest, flying down the bank and launching herself forward with a fade stepped timed to put her sliding across the ice and behind the two wraths who had already started towards them. Her saber formed effortlessly in her right hand mid-thrust, catching the first of her prey off guard with a sword through the chest, even as it started to dissipate around the magic blade. The second had started to whirl around to catch her, only to be thrown off balance as one of Varric’s bolts slammed straight into its head. More than enough time for her to distract it with a wall of fire spread from her left hand before it met a similar fate as the first. Just in time for her to fade step towards the shades, one meeting its fate to her blade- and the final shattering to ice and bolts. She sighed, again, head falling back as her magic settled into place. Oddly enough, for one blissful moment it felt like she was home. Fighting alongside everyone…it was dangerous. “Shit Sparky, that was pretty impressive. If not mildly terrifying for those of us watching.” They joined her now, and though Halesta didn’t look to see their faces, she knew what she would find. “And dangerous.” Cassandra scowled, and it was almost enough to make the edges of her lips curl upwards. “If you die before reaching the Breach, everything will have been for nothing.”

“My apologies, Seeker.” But this is nothing. I have fought stronger demons, killed stronger men. Monstrous men, corrupted by greed and red lyrium. Killed a false-god. Dragons. Qunari invasions. Darkspawn. Sha-Brytol The Fade. She had faced them all and had come out victorious, but no. She could not say that, now could she? Here, she was nothing. No one. Just an elf who has a shiny hand, and suspected with blowing up the Conclave- all while starting the end of the word. Wonderful. “I shall remember to remain cautious. I was not thinking clearly, I fear.” Which was true, if not in the way it was meant to be taken. When she fought, Halesta could forget reality, at least for a moment. “Shall we move on?” She looks at them finally, giving what she hoped was a convincing enough smile even as she took in their reactions. Just as she expected, Cassandra had her usual brooding face on. Varric looked curious, and she knew straight off that he was going to be questioning her far more than he had the first time. Every elf’s dream, being the interesting one. Completely. Solas…Solas looked equal parts intrigued, and suspicious. As if he was reserving judgement until…something. Likely when things about herself made sense. “Perhaps next time, you can actually use your staff for killing demons. At least then you will be safer.”

“My staff?” For an actual moment, Halesta blanked out. She didn’t have a staff- hadn’t used one, anyway, since she had lost her arm. Realization hit her rather belatedly. “Right! Staff…yes, staff. Useful things, very…ah, staff-y.” She grimaced, quickly turning on her heels to continue towards the stairs onward. Maker that was embarrassing. So much for appearing calm and collected. It was hardly her fault for the loss of habit when it came to using a staff… not that they would have any idea for that. The former Inquisitor sighed wearily. Good job Halesta, way to make yourself sound suspicious. She was half-way up the icy steps when the others caught up, and Varric began his interrogation. “So, Sparky, where’d you learn to fight like that? Don’t think I’ve ever seen a mage fight quite like you before.” Halesta snorted at that.

“With a lot of practice.”

“Well, yeah, of course. But I was thinking more of a _where_ kind of thing.”

“Everywhere. I travel…travelled a lot, mostly through Ferelden and Orlais. The roads are hardly safe, particularly now. Less so when one finds themselves in the forgotten places of the world.” Or when you’re facing an army of corrupted templars slash fanatics of an ancient darkspawn Magister. But… she couldn’t help but mimic her Solas just a little. “I have seen countless places, great ruins left from before the Chantry changed their chant and marched on Dales. Walked the grounds of a temple dedicated to Dirthamen, the elvhen god of secrets and knowledge, long since thought lost. Walked the paths of petitioners at a temple of Mythal, following the footsteps of my most distant ancestors. Seen the depths of ancient dwarven tombs that yet linger on the surface of this world, and have been so deep within the Deep Roads…that I have seen places where not even the darkspawn have touched. I could hardly call any of those places safe.” And they certainly weren’t, for many reasons. Halesta was pretty certain that they had managed to fight, and kill, just about everything in Thedas you could possibly find. “Not even when I found myself walking paths even older than roads, did I find myself safe.” She regretted saying it the moment it left her mouth, bitter as she was about not being able to properly enjoy her time exploring the crossroads. The Vir Dirthara alone! But it was not to be. All that knowledge just sitting there, even if most of it was lost, was still far more than they could have ever had before.

“Huh, I can see why you’d be good at killing things with a history like that. If we all survive this hole in the sky business, you and Chuckles here should get together and swap stories. Maybe you’ve come across the some of the same places.”

“Indeed, should we succeed, such a conversation might prove to be…illuminating. It is not often I find myself with such an opportunity close at hand.” Solas cut in, voice sounding both intrigued and dangerous all at once. She had felt how heavy his gaze settled on her the more she spoke, and by the time she hinted at the Eluvians it felt heavy enough to drown in. Now she could hear danger in his voice as well, all but predicting some kind of interrogation about the subject. Lovely. And dangerous.

“So, what everyone really wants to know: _Are_ you innocent?”

And with that, they were back on track with the script she remembered of the past. “I don’t remember what happened, I’m afraid.” It was a struggle to keep her voice neutral, to not say that she knew what happened. To mention the orb, and Corepheus, and the Wardens. The Nightmare. Until she knew- knew something. Or at least until everything with the Breach expanding was settled. Maybe she would learn something about how she got here…or at least know if anything had changed that far back. Would the vision show her young Dalish self? Or was she actually missing the memories still, for all she remembered her first time through? Until she knew- Until she knew _something_.

“That’ll get you every time. Should have spun a story.”

“That’s what _you_ would have done.” Cassandra cut in.

“It’s more believable, and less prone to result in premature execution.”

Thankfully, their conversation was quickly cut off by the group of demons on the path ahead.  Halesta felt awkward as she unhooked the worn staff from her back, hanging back as Cassandra charged forward, and fought like a proper mage. Not that it made much a difference, considering they fell just as quickly to her staff as they did to her blade. Apparently enough that Cassandra even gave her an appraising look, as if she was sizing up how hard it would be for her as a Seeker to take the mage down. It made her grimace, because if anything, Halesta did not want to appear overly… suspicious. Somehow, she doubted it was working in her favor. Everything the Inquisitor went through had pushed her magic farther than it had ever been, or needed to be as a Dalish First. Enough to make a noticeable difference here in the past. It wasn’t even as strong as she had been with her own staff. Maker, she couldn’t even imagine what they thought of her this time, on top of everything else.  It was too late now, at least in part. But if she stuck to only what she had already shown, well, Leliana would have reason to be proud. Her Leliana that is.

It was a plan, one that Halesta stuck to as they dealt with the rift at the gates to the forward camp. It was all too easy to fall back into the rhythm of stoic silence, even as the other’s played their parts as they passed through the gates. It was funny, she considered while striding past the few soldiers that yet lingered, how insignificant the Breach felt compared to what was to come. Certainly, a pressing issue no doubt, and yet. And yet: What was a hole in the sky compared to Corepheus and his army? To Fen’harel and his agents? Or even the Viddasala with her Saarebas, one who was supercharged on lyrium? Perspective was a funny thing. Perspective that made it all too easy for her to remain collected- or rather _appear_ collected as they interrupted the petty squabbling between Roderick and Leliana. In reality, she was mostly tuning them out in favor of mimicking them in her head.

Blah blah blah, I am important hear me! Let us die quaking in our boots! Etc. etc.

How dare you! Divine Justinia would never! Blah blah.

But she’s deaddddd, so we should wait on voting while the world ends and everyone dies-

Oh wait, that was her que. “You know, I’m pretty certain that closing the Breach is a little more time sensitive. Unless you’d like us all to die while waiting for a replacement, then by all means.” Halesta drawled, sounding far more sarcastic than she had intended to. “You!” She was not at all surprised that Roderick felt rather vehemently about that. Actually, she seemed to have ticked him off even more than the first time. “ _You_ brought this on us in the first place!” Ugh. At least she had Cassandra here to take over. Despite the good Roderick did in his death, there were far too many words Halesta could say about the Chantry, and not many of them were good. She shifted her weight to the side, lips pressed tight as she watched the two talk. Soon, soon they would be at the Temple. Just a little longer, and perhaps things would start to make sense. Or at least- the Breach flashed green as it expanded, sending the anchor sparking madly in her palm. She grimaced, flexing her fingers even as she halfheartedly attempted to glare the thing into submission. Eventually, it fluttered to a stop, and then she was given a choice. To charge, or to take the mountain path.

“…We charge. The sooner this is over, the better for everyone.” Halesta took a deep breath to steady herself, eyes shuttering for the short moment it took for her to mentally pray for the scouts that would be lost in the mountains. Last time, last time she had saved them. And she should, should be the person she was and save them again. Instead, they would likely- no they would die. But then, she had already had so many die in her name. What was a few more?  In the end, this was her test. Would charging instead change things? Could she change things? Or was this some nightmare conjured by a demon so powerful… No, it was better to not think it a dream, even if it was. Not yet. “Feel free to execute me after, I suppose. I will hardly be in a position to bargain.” A lie, but a lie she almost wished were true. And as she walked towards the gate ahead, Halesta curled the fingers of her left hand until her nails dug sharply into calloused flesh. It was not Cassandra, who the consequences lie, but her. Yet again Halesta would carry the weight of the entire world. Their hate, their joy, their devotion, and their sorrow.

Halam’shivanas.

But it was anything but sweet in her eyes. Not anymore, and likely never again.


	4. The Wrath of Heaven 7:19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little complicated for Halesta, and she has much to consider-and answer for when it comes time to think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was honestly a bit like dragging teeth to write out in time with my insomnia acting up and making time kind of blur forward. But, a chapter is a chapter! And I will be damned if I give up succeeding in this goal of mine. I apologize that it is unfortunately short compared to what I wanted to make it-- but at least we are finally at the end of the intro lmao  
> Many thanks to those of you who have commented and gave kudos!

### The Wrath of Heaven

The path into the valley and towards the solders was a journey of pure silence. In fact, she could almost say it felt unusually awkward. Not that she bothered to look back at the rest of the party as she led them forward with squared shoulders and head raised high. She wondered then, if she looked much like a woman on a mission as she felt. Every step was a long stride. Every breath, calculated. Whatever was to come…Halesta would be ready. Without a doubt, there would be more rifts to seal shut. “Be on your guard.” She murmured in warning just as the lingering power in her palm finally spilled outward, crackling in a shower of green as they neared the base camp. “Another rift, I expect.” Any reply was cut off by a soldier ahead being sent flying back by a green light- and by the fact that Halesta wasted no time fade stepping ahead.

She had just managed to save two of their men by the time the others had arrived, just in time for her to leap into battle with the demons that spilled from the rift. Or would it be better to say triggered from the rift? It, after all, wasn’t quite active till she got within its range. “—are you doing!?” Cassandra’s protests [At least, she was fairly certain it was Cassandra she was hearing protest.]  Halesta gave it no mind, once more summoning her blade to take out the first wave of demons before she was joined by Solas throwing a barrier over her. Oh wait, was that Cullen? Halesta blinked slowly in the calm before the second wave, staring at the familiar form of her former/then-now Commander, instead of paying attention to whatever her companions were babbling about. Something about the rifts, she thought. Something to think of later! The elf grinned as she launched herself straight at one of the terror demons, catching it by surprise as it rose from the fade only to end up headless. Hardly a challenge after everything else she’d been through she thought, sealing the rift with little trouble other than the usual snap.

“Sealed, as before. You are showing to be quite proficient at this.”

“Let’s hope it works on the big one.”

That was…huh, she must have already changed things enough. Halesta darted her eyes from Solas and Varric, then back to study Solas while she listened to Cullen and Cassandra talked. Suspicion. She could see it in his eyes as easily as one could see the sun or the moon. He was still guarded, but she had long learned to read the face of her lover. Already he suspected her, of what she couldn’t be sure. Perhaps, he even thought she was working with Corepheus, as laughable as that sounded. Did he suspect she knew about the orb? Ooh, maybe she was a thief looking to steal its power from him! Halesta couldn’t stop the amused snort that escaped, and even looking away to hide her expression didn’t stop Solas from pinching his brows at her reaction. Alas she had things to do, days to save.

“Is it? I hope they’re right about you. We’ve lost a lot of people getting you here.”

“And you would stand to lose a great deal many more had you not. Or so I have been told. We can only hope they were correct.” Halesta replied bitterly, almost too bitterly before she managed to tack on something a little more hopeful sounding. Somehow, she didn’t think Cullen was buying it. Or anyone else for that matter.

“We’ll see soon enough, won’t we?”

And that was the end of that it seemed. For her anyway. She let them finish their conversation in peace, gaze focused on the breach with an unreadable expression. Three times she already had to close the tear between the waking and the dreaming. Three. This would be her fourth- and then her fifth, then a sixth. The question was how? How was she back here? Supposedly, one could not travel back before the breach was made. That was a given, at least according to everything they knew about the time magic used in Redcliff. What she didn’t know, was who had the means and _why._ Had something gone wrong like when Dorian interrupted the spell? Was whoever caused this trying to erase her from existence? It made no sense. _Why had they done this?_ Her thoughts were interrupted by the sensation of Solas’s magic shifting closer to her, creeping along as he shifted physically closer. Likely to start a conversation. An interrogation, rather. Too bad for him, she wasn’t in the mood for it.

Halesta lurched away from the spot she stood without looking at him- or anyone really as she carefully dropped from the ledge. She was joined by the others not long after. “The Temple of Sacred Ashes.” Solas announced, rightfully mournful considering he was the ultimate cause for the destruction. Ass. “What’s left of it.” Poor Varric. First Kirkwall, then this. “That is where you walked out of the Fade and our soldiers found you. They say a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was.” She did. She knew exactly who it was. But she could hardly say so, now could she? Not without…well. “In the end, I wonder if it even matters who she was. People will always believe what they wish to.” And wasn’t that the story of her life in this tale? “We should keep going.” They did so without complaint.

“The Breach _is_ a long way up.” Varric muttered as they entered into the heart of what was once the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Privately, Halesta agreed with him despite it not being her first time seeing it. She had forgotten. Forgotten how terrifying the mother of all the rifts were before she had stopped it from rapidly expanding across Thedas. What she had not forgotten, and would never forget, was the sheer carnage that surrounded it. So many people had lost their lives. Except for her. And Corepheus. The symbol for a god, and a false god walk into a conclave- no that was…in rather poor taste. Even if it was only in her head. The perfect time for Leliana to step in really.

“You’re here. Thank the Maker.” As if hearing her name, Leliana and her scouts entered the temple behind them in a hurry. Of course, her foreknowledge lead to it being rather, ah, easy to predict the timing of many things to do with the Breach. Conversations and dramatic entrances being one of them. “Leliana, have your men take up positions around the temple.” Cassandra ordered before stalking around in front of Halesta to speak. “This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

If Cassandra was surprised or took offence to her brusque statement, she didn’t show it.

“Then let’s find a way down. And be careful.”

And so, just like before, Halesta fought a Pride demon [and oh how that was more amusing when she thought about it. _Pride_.] and halted the Breach from growing. Except for one. Tiny. Detail.

_“Corepheus! I won’t -“_

_“Run while you can! Warn them!’_

_“We have an intruder. Slay the elf!”_


End file.
